Definitely something you’ve got to do in Phuket, but arrange this when you are there as it’s much cheaper than pre-booking before departure.

Once we decided that Phuket was our destination for our holiday, we were clear that Maya Bay (part of the Phi Phi Islands) was an absolute “must-see” – Maya Bay was the set much of the movie “The Beach” which starred Leonardo di Caprio and is just breath-taking.

The Tour will pick you up at 8am (try to get the earliest departure so that the islands are not full of tourists when you arrive) and transfers you to the docks where at 8.30am you will be served some coffee, tea, biscuits and croissants. With us, we’d already had breakfast at the hotel so we thought “why not – we’re on holiday”, so we merrily snacked away while we watched the Phi Phi Island Ferry depart.

At about 9am, there is a quick briefing about the tour where the guide provides you with some tips like – buy some bread (it comes in handy when you go snorkelling) and get the waterproof cellphone covers to take underwater photos. These are dirt cheap and available at the docks store.

By 9.30am you will be on your way by means of a speed-boat en-route to Maya Bay. Because we opted for the speed-boat, we quickly caught up with the super slow ferry - would definitely not recommend the ferry as so much time is wasted on board. At Maya Bay you will enjoy about an hour at leisure - you can expect to see lots of tourists doing selfie poses, swimming, and acting rather silly. Once you're done, you board the boat again before heading to Monkey Island - you do disembark to see all the little monkeys on the island. Hold on tight to your stuff, they're shifty little buggers. Thereafter, you head to Don Phi Phi (Phi Phi Main Island) for a buffet lunch. Between your shore excursions on the islands, there are snorkelling stops where you can get the Instagrammable picture of yourself jumping off the bow of the speedboat. After a sumptuous lunch, you pass by a few more islands before your final stop – Kai Island. On this tiny, tiny private island, the small beach is packed with beach chairs and umbrellas and you get to spend a few good hours doing well, whatever you fancy – chill, swim, snorkel, jet ski (additional cost), dance – around 5pm you will head back to Phuket where your transfer back to the hotel awaits. This tour includes your refreshments (water and soft drinks) while on board and at Kai Island, lunch at Phi Phi Island and all the fun you can have.

Cost: Priceless (more like R380 per person depending on your negotiating skills - see "Barter for Bargain" for tips).